Cousins is a bright player, but his observations and messages are often ignored if they are shouted to teammates. It's something Kings coaches and players have relayed to Cousins, who says he's listening.

"Sometimes you may be asking a valid question, but your demeanor and demonstrative way puts out that it's more than it really is," said coach Keith Smart. "So you have to figure out a way, how do I communicate to my teammate?"

Smart said Cousins realizes he needs his teammates and could not continue to come off as adversarial with them.